The present invention relates generally to the field of transaction validation technologies, and more particularly to a cognitive mediator for generating blockchain smart contracts.
A blockchain is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger that can record transactions between two or more parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger transactions automatically. A blockchain maintains a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, secured from tampering and revision. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data—once recorded, the data in a block cannot be altered retroactively. Through the use of a peer-to-peer network and a distributed timestamping server, a blockchain database is managed autonomously. The decentralized consensus algorithm of blockchain technologies allows several entities to maintain a shared record of information without having to trust each other individually, since consensus is formed on a per-network basis. The networked model produces a system with the advantages of censorship resistance, tamper resistance, and a system with no single point of failure.
Smart contracts are computer programs that both express the contents of a contractual agreement and operate the implementation of the content, based on triggers provided by users of a smart contract or extracted from a blockchain environment. Smart contracts may have a user interface and often emulate the logic of contractual clauses. Smart contracts aim to provide security superior to traditional contract law and to reduce other transaction costs associated with contracting. Within the context of blockchain, smart contracts are scripts stored on the blockchain. Since they reside on the chain, smart contracts have a unique address. A smart contract is triggered by messages or transactions sent to its address.